Selecting a Brokerage - US Market

US market Stocks	Interactive Brokers	Saxo Capital Markets (Classic Account)
Commission	0.5% (min $1)	0.01 USD/ Share (min. 3.99 USD)
Minimum commission	2.50 USD	15 USD
Minimum Holding Fee	Monthly minimum fee of $10 for accounts between $2000 and $100, 000	0
Platforms	Desktop - Trader Workstation Mobile App (2FA)Webtrader Platform	SaxoTraderGO SaxoTraderPRO
User Support	Hotlines dedicated to various regions, chat bot, FAQ Personal experience: it is hard to get customer support, send emails, received no replies request for callback, received callback after 2 days Tried chat-bot, answers provided were weak and not so relevant. *Update: Hotline works but it is not toll-free, no Singapore hotline and I had to call Hong Kong hotline which is costly. As for the Live Chat function, I had to wait for some time before the next available agent was ready. Response from the agent was slow and the problem was not resolved by the time I ended my Live Chat. (Issue I encountered was Delayed Data not showing on my Trade Workstation	Dedicated SG hotline from 0830 to 1730 Singapore office available. Personal experience: Dedicated account manager based in Singapore to assist with my queries. Follow up call to check on my interest in opening a trading account with them
Firm Reputation	Since 1977 Cannot trade Singapore markets, probably to protect local brokerages' interest since they charge lower fees No impact as I am already using iOCBC to trade Singapore equities	Fully licensed Danish Bank can trade in Singapore markets, but that's not what I'm looking for
Required Minimum in account	10, 000 USD (on website) *Update: IB removed this requirement when I called to check (July 2018) require funding for account activation	2000 USD
Monthly Activity Charges	10 USD monthly, cannot be waived unless- more than 100, 000 USD in Equity- generate more than 10 USD in commission and fees	6 consecutive months of NO trading - 100 USD
Cash Movement	1 free withdrawl per month Thereafter, - 10 USD for Wire transfer- 1 USD for GIRO	No charges if request is submitted via Online 40 USD if done manually
How to Fund the Account	Bank transfer	Bank Transfer - 1 to 5 days Credit/ Debit Card - Immediate, Credit card charges of 0.5 - 2.5% Stock Transfer
US Market Options	Interactive Broker	Saxo Capital Markets (Classic Account)
Trading Fee	0.70 USD/ Contract (min $1)	6 USD (1 -250 Contracts) 3 USD (251 to 1000 Contracts)1.50 USD (1000 to 5000 Contracts)
	Fixed Rates for Infrequent traders Tiered Rates for Active Traders	No Minimum Fees for Contract Options
		No Custody Fees for Contract Options
Bought Options Daily Holding Fees Per Mil	Nil	Less than 30 Days - Nil
		More than 30 Days - 1.10 For Equities Options
Forex Commissions	If Monthly traded amount is < USD 100 Mil then = USD 2 or 0.2 bp * Trade value	As per website, commission for 5 major currencies from as low as 0.4 pips, depending on initial funding and trading volume

Reading List

Reading List

1.Option B: facing adversity, building resilience and finding joy by Sheryl Sandberg 

- an open tell-all book by Sandberg. really enjoyed reading this book as i see her in her most vulnerable state. Not being a sadist here, more like the reader can click better with the writer and see that after-all, we are all humans. 

- i never knew that we have the capacity to increase our resilience by taking concrete steps in the face of adversity

- thru the eyes of Sandberg, she took the readers on an emotional healing journey with her

2. Never split the difference : negotiating as if your life depended on it by Voss Christopher

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

- before reading this book, I always think of negotiation as 50-50, give and take. Only when going through this book did I realize I got the concept wrong all these time. To truly win at negotiation, we have to make the other party give in fully, without them thinking that we are extracting more than we deserve. 

3. Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Gladwell Malcolm

- I personally feel that Malcolm has a similar writing style with the Freakonomics writer duo. Their tongue-in-cheek writing style, combined with eccentric ideas makes this book really enjoyable to read. 

- so do I see things differently now? .. applying "out of the box"/ innovative ways of going about my daily routine tasks? I hope :)

4. Get the truth : former CIA officers teach you how to persuade anyone to tell all by Philip Houston

5. Emotional intelligence 2.0 by Bradberry Travis

- Understanding the 4 skills

  - Self awareness

  - Self management

  - Social awareness

  - Relationship management strategies

- accurately identifying our emotions as we experience them. Don't generalize.

- good to know. my main takeaway? be mindful of my own emotions; think of the big picture, long term consequences, don't get carried away in the now. 

6. The Panama papers : breaking the story of how the rich & powerful hide their money by Obermayer Bastian

- the reveal- all book by Bastian, a German investigative journalist who received The Panama Papers from an anonymous source. The source went on to forward extensive volume of internal documents which forms the basis of the investigations for this book. A compelling read for those who are curious how the rich get richer by evading taxes and much more. How Bastian et al research helped launched investigation by local authorities and made us aware of the legal loopholes out there.

7. Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

- interesting applications of economics and everyday "common sense" logic that most of us fails to think of, or even bother to sit back and ponder.

8. Think like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

- Authors challenges us to think out of the box. Many a times the solution to everyday problems is very simple and right in front of us. We don't have to think deep, just take a step back and look at the big picture.